Anderson Cooper comes out as gay

The host of "AC360" and "Anderson" has never publicly confirmed that detail about his private life before, but he's never denied it, either. Cooper's sexual orientation has long been an open secret, but it took an Entertainment Weekly cover story about gay celebrities to prompt the newsman to finally come out.

Daily Beast blogger Andrew Sullivan, another openly gay newsman, wrote to Cooper asking for his reaction to the story and published the response on his blog, The Dish, on Monday morning.

In the email, Cooper states, "The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud."

He also discusses his reasons for keeping these facts obscured for so long. He writes, "I've always believed that who a reporter votes for, what religion they are, who they love, should not be something they have to discuss publicly."

But Cooper has rethought that stance and admitted that by keeping facts about his personal life private, he has inadvertently created a public perception that he's "uncomfortable, ashamed or even afraid."

By coming out, he's hoping to dispel all those misperceptions, or as he says, "I’m not an activist, but I am a human being and I don't give that up by being a journalist."

As public acceptance of gays continues to rise, more and more celebrities are choosing to go public in low-key ways that are almost non-events. Earlier this year, "Big Bang Theory"star Jim Parsons went public with his sexual orientation as an aside, tossed off midway through a New York Times feature about his stage career.